


Will They Won't They

by catwithamustache



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M, Swearing, alcohol mentioned, and eventually fluff, but also lots of pining, klance, lil bit of angst, obscure arctic monkeys references, slowburnish
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-12 17:08:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,951
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28763811
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/catwithamustache/pseuds/catwithamustache
Summary: When Lance meets Keith and finds out it's his twenty-first birthday, he's determined to take him out for a fun night with friends. They have a great time, and Pidge and Hunk take notice. Pidge makes it their personal mission to get them together.
Relationships: Keith/Lance (Voltron)
Comments: 3
Kudos: 11





	Will They Won't They

**Author's Note:**

> So this is my first ever fic so who knows if it's any good. But if you're reading this, I'd bet you've read a klance fic before so you should know what you're in for.
> 
> Also the title is very much taken from the Jeremy Shada song "Will They Won't They"  
> His music has been a big inspiration for this fic

Lance ran out the door at record speed after his alarm didn’t go off because his phone was dead. It wasn’t even 9 am, and here he was sprinting to class with a dead phone on no coffee and little sleep.

Deep down he knew Professor Shiro was a nice guy, but he was also terrified of him. He would seriously bet he could bench-press him without lifting a finger. Not that he would, but just the thought that he _could_ scared Lance. And he’d seen him when he’s angry about someone being late to class. He had never been on the receiving end of that anger, but he didn’t want to start today.

Nope, he was going to make it to class on time.

And that’s how he ended up stumbling into class at 8:59 am drenched in sweat, only to find a near empty classroom. Except for Professor Shiro carrying his bag about to walk out the door.

“Good morning, Lance. You seem to be in quite the hurry.”

Lance choked on his own spit in between heavy breaths. “I—uh.”

“Something came up and I had to cancel class today, but you should’ve gotten an email about it.”

Damn it. Lance silently cursed himself for not charging his phone last night. Then he remembered he was standing in the doorway and Shiro was blankly staring at him.

“Oh uh, I must’ve missed that. Well good to see you, and uh, good luck with whatever came up!” and on that note he sprinted away.

As he caught his breath outside the building, Lance couldn’t decide if he was relieved or pissed. He nearly gave himself a heart attack this morning, but at least now he had time to waste. But first things first, he had to get his hands on a charger.

He took in the autumn breeze on the way back to his apartment, enjoying the way the cool air felt against his skin. The leaves were just beginning to turn. Fall was his favorite season at Voltron University. The trees that lined the sidewalks were colored with the most beautiful shades of red and orange.

It was also the point in the school year where you got comfortable with your new classes and had a routine. Everything seemed to fall into place. _Hah_. The perfect midpoint between the stress of a new school year and the nightmare of and exam season.

Of course there was work—a lot of work—and midterms, but Lance had developed some pretty good study habits over the past two years, much thanks to his amazing roommate Hunk. Junior year would be a breeze.

Or maybe more like a marathon, but hey, he could run. If he’d had class today, he would’ve been on time.

“Oh, hey Lance!”

Lance looked up to see Pidge walking towards him with some guy he didn’t recognize. And trust him, he definitely would remember seeing a guy like that.

He had some ‘personality’ to his style if you could call it that, with his ripped jeans and leather jacket. The whole ‘I’m too cool for you style’ was a bit much and it was all accompanied by a freakin’ mullet. But when it came down to it, despite the interesting fashion and hair choices, the guy was kind of attractive. The way his hair framed his face actually suited him, and his eyes almost looked purple in the natural lighting.

“Dude stop checking out Keith and let me introduce you guys,” Pidge interrupted with a sly grin on their face.

Lance snapped back to reality; he hadn’t even realized he’d been staring like an idiot. “Oh uh, sorry, I just uh—wait a second I was not checking him out, I just—"

“Yeah, yeah Lance whatever,” they said as they rolled their eyes and grabbed Keith’s wrist to pull him over. Lance could almost swear there was a slight blush to his cheeks.

“Anyway, this is Keith, like I said before. He’s an old friend from high school who transferred here for his junior year.”

“Uh, nice to meet you, Lance I assume,” Keith said with an awkward laugh as he pulled his wrist out of Pidge’s death grip.

“You too,” Lance said and gave an awkward smile.

They stood there like that for a moment, glancing around at the trees. God the tension in the room was going to kill him, and they were outside!

“So, what’s up with the mullet?” Wait, did he really just say that?

“I don’t have a mullet,” he replied with a deadpan expression.

“You totally do! Pidge back me up here,” wow he was really going through with this conversation.

“Nope, I’m not getting involved in this. And anyway we gotta go. We we’re on our way to meet up with Shiro,” they explained.

“Oh, well Shiro’s probably busy. He had to cancel class cause something came up,” Lance responded.

“Yeah duh, Keith is what came up, it’s his birthday!”

“Oh, well happy birthday dude! But hold up—are you telling me that you know Shiro?” Lance practically shouted at Keith. “We’re talking about the same Shiro here right? Like Professor Shirogane that teaches freakin’ calculus but could also probably be a WWE wrestler?”

“Um, yeah I think so. Why is it such as big deal?” Keith asks genuinely confused.

“Uh because it’s Shiro!”

“Yeah, okay…”

“Anyway we’ve gotta go. We’re going bowling,” interrupted Pidge.

Lance looked back at Keith. “Bowling? Those are your big birthday plans?”

“Um yeah, I guess so,” Keith shrugged.

“Is that really all you’re doing today?”

Keith thought about it for a second before replying, “Besides maybe ordering pizza and trying to get a decent amount of sleep before my 8 am class tomorrow, then yeah, that’s it.”

“How old are you turning exactly?” Lance asked skeptically.

“Um, 21.”

“Enough said. Hey Pidge, what do you say me, you, and Hunk take Keithy boy here out for a night on the town?” he said as he gestured over at Keith.

“Did you not just hear me say I have an 8 am class tomorrow morning?”

“Skip it. You only turn 21 once.”

***

“So you agreed to go?” Shiro asked skeptically.

“Uh, not exactly. After that he just walked away before I could even say no.” Keith glanced down at his scuffed-up bowling shoes on the shiny wooden floor.

“Aww yeah strike! Suck on that Keith!” Pidge shouted as they walked back. Keith stuck his tongue out at them.

But Shiro wasn’t ready to drop the conversation just yet. “I mean you could go. It might even be fun.”

“Yeah dude. I know Lance is kind of loud and obnoxious, but he’s really a great guy and so is his roommate Hunk. You don’t have to drink. I think Hunk is the only one who’s even old enough besides you now anyway.”

Keith didn’t really want to go, but he was pretty sure this Lance guy wasn’t beyond physically dragging him downtown. He knew Pidge would drop it if he was seriously against it, but he promised them he’d try to be nice to their friends. “Fine. I’ll go, but no drinking.”

“Really?” Pidge said with a raised eyebrow.

“I mean how bad could it be?”

“Alright,” they said with a smile that shifted into their signature evil smirk, “Now it’s time to finish kicking your asses.”

And kick their asses they did with a final score of 130 compared to Shiro’s 109 and Keith’s 97.

***

Lance got out of his last class of the day at 3:45 pm. He couldn’t stop thinking about his interaction with Keith that morning. God, why was he such an idiot? The guy probably didn’t even want to go out, especially with some random guy he’d just met. He checked his phone to see a message from Pidge.

**Pidgeon** : _Guess who agreed to go out tonight >:}_

  
**Sharpshooter** : _No way, really?!? Even after I insulted his hair?!_

  
**Pidgeon** : _Honestly I’m surprised too, he never goes out_

  
**Pidgeon** : _So be nice Lance_

  
**Sharpshooter** : _HEY I can be plenty nice_

  
**Pidgeon** : _Alright yeah, anyway meet up by my dorm at 7?_

  
**Sharpshooter** : _sounds good see ya then Pidgeon_

  
***

Pidge and Keith were waiting outside their dorm when Lance showed up with Hunk at precisely 6:59 pm. He looked freshly showered and wore a blue flannel over a grey t-shirt with black jeans. He looked good. Definitely more put together than when he’d met him this morning. The guy had looked like he just ran a marathon. Hunk donned a yellow bomber jacket over a black t-shirt with jeans.

“Hi, I’m Hunk. You must be Keith. Happy birthday man!” Hunk held out his arms to offer Keith a hug with a warm and welcoming smile on his face.

Keith couldn’t help but smile back as he hesitantly gave him a quick hug, “Nice to meet you.” Then Keith noticed Lance was holding a small envelope with his name on it.

“Hey guys! This is for you,” Lance said as he shoved the envelope into Keith’s hands. “And happy birthday again!” He smiled and it seemed to light up his whole face. Even his bright blue eyes seemed to shimmer back at Keith.

“Uh thanks, but you didn’t have to get me anything. It’s really not a big deal.”

“Dude, it’s your birthday, just take it.”

“Alright,” he replied as he tucked the envelope into the pocket of his leather jacket. “So where are we going anyway?”

“Ah right! So there this place in town that my friend Allura runs that has all sorts of events and tonight they have a DJ, but other days they do karaoke, so I thought we could go there.” Lance looked Keith dead in the eye and with utmost seriousness and added, “Also they have the best garlic knots ever.”

“Aww yeah, we haven’t been to Castle Altea in forever!” Pidge practically jumped up and down. “Come on guys let’s goooo! And I call shotgun!” they shouted as they ran over to Hunk’s car. Hunk laughed and chased after them as Lance and Keith stumbled behind.

-

Some pop song that Keith had never heard played on the radio. Lance sang every word as he danced in the limited room of the backseat next to Keith.

_I’d rather be dry, but at least I’m alive // Rain on me, rain, rain // Rain on me, rain, rain_

Lance stopped abruptly and looked over at Keith, “Dude, have you seriously never heard this song before?”

“I guess not,” Keith shrugged with his arms still crossed over his chest.

“It’s Lady Gaga and Ariana Grande! Ever heard of ‘em?”

“It’s just not really my type of music.”

“Then what is your type of music?”

Pidge whipped their head around from the front seat with a grin. “Hey Keith.”

“Pidge what are you doing…” Hunk asked warily.

Keith glared at them as he saw _[Keith’s playlist (Pidge keep your nosy ass away from this)](https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_evVW90BJbvNjig8mAC7SHfAcD48gP9U)_ pulled up on their phone. “Don’t you dare.”

“Nope, I’m playing it. You can’t stop me.”

A guitar rift filled the car as the song began.

_Just when things are getting complicated in the eye of the storm // She flicks a red-hot revelation off the tip of her tongue_

“What is this?” Lance asked, confused.

“Arctic Monkeys,” Pidge grinned back at Keith as he sunk down in the seat.

“Who the fuck are Arctic Monkeys?” Lance deadpanned.

Keith stifled a laughed at that, but Hunk reprimanded Lance anyway, “Dude, don’t be rude! Maybe they’re like polar bears, but monkeys or something.” Keith decided he liked Hunk, at least he tried to stand up for him.

“They were Keith’s favorite band back in high school,” Pidge explained.

“They’re very, uh, British,” Lance mustered, “Not bad though, I guess.”

“I liked the guitar parts, and they were fun to play,” Keith muttered. “Also their music is lot better now, but some of their classics are hard to beat.”

“Wait you play guitar?” Lance exclaimed at Keith.

“Well I _used_ to. I haven’t played since high school.”

“Wow, I bet you were really good,” Lance spoke with a look of pure awe.

“Oh, he was,” Pidge added, “like actually good.”

“Then why’d you stop?”

Keith shared a look of panic with Pidge and scrambled to collect his words, “I uh—just got really busy with school and, yeah, I don’t really know I guess,” he awkwardly spat out with a shrug.

“Nah, man I get it. School keeps you busy,” Lance looked a bit bewildered at Keith’s response but brushed it off. “Anyway, Pidgeon mentioned you transferred here. Where’d you go before?”

Keith sighed with relief at the change in subject, “I went to a small community college called the Garrison. I transferred here to major in astrophysics—"

“No way! Dude I’m an astronomy major!”

“Oh, really?”

“Yeah, I’ve always loved space, and it’s just crazy that there’s so much we still don’t know about it.”

“Yeah, do you believe in aliens?”

Pidge sighed dramatically and warned Lance, “Do not get him started on that, or he will not shut up about it.”

Lance ignored them, “Uh, I mean yeah, there’s gotta be something out there besides us, right? The universe is so big that it’d be crazy if there wasn’t!”

“See Pidge, Lance appreciates this conversation!”

“It’s not that I don’t, I’ve just heard it a million times,” Pidge rolled their eyes. “Anyway we’re here.”

-

The group walked into the club and claimed an empty table in a corner of the place. Lance excused himself to go talk to a young woman near the bar. She had a dark complexion and flowing white hair that went all the way down her back. She seemed to be talking to the bar tender, an older man with bright orange hair and a bushy well-kept mustache. The woman and Lance exchanged a quick hug, and then he pulled her over to their table.

“Keith, this is Allura, the owner of Castle Altea. Allura, this is Keith, and you’ve met Pidge and Hunk before.”

Allura smiled sweetly at Keith, “Pleasure to meet you Keith. Lance tells me you’re here to celebrate your 21st birthday. I suppose a celebration is in order then?

“It’s nice to be meet you too, and yeah it’s my birthday, but I don’t drink,” Keith confessed.

“Well in that case, you can always go check out the dance floor,” she gestured to the corner of the building filled with people dancing. “I’ve got to run, but it’s nice to see you all again. Enjoy your night!” Then she walked off to go greet some other clubgoers.

Hunk nodded over to Pidge, “We’re going to go get some drinks and garlic knots. You guys want anything?”

Lance perked up at the mention of food, “I’ll take a second order of garlic knots, and a coke. You want one Keith?”

“Sure,” he shrugged. They sat in silence for a minute, observing the other clubgoers. Keith leaned his elbow on the table and tapped his fingers against it. He still wasn’t sure if he’d made the right choice to go. The music was overly loud, and he knew he’d have headache by the end of the night. Keith figured he should at least try to make small talk.

“Allura seems nice.”

“Yeah, she is,” Lance sighed wistfully, “but she’s not available, so don’t even bother dude. Trust me, I’ve tried.”

“Wait, what? I didn’t it mean it like that. She’s not my type anyway.”

“Then what _is_ your type then, oh mysterious one?” Lance teased.

“You,” the second it was out of his mouth, Keith realized his mistake as Lance’s eyes went wide. “Oh no, I mean I like dudes, not like you specifically, not that there’s anything wrong with you, but I also just met you today. I meant that I just like guys in general. Um, yeah, sorry. Okay I’m gonna shut up and stop rambling now.”

Lance burst out laughing. “Dude! That was like the smoothest flirting I’ve ever witnessed, OH MY GOD. But that’s really cool. I like girls, guys, and whatever in between.”

There was a brief moment of silence again, but Lance broke it before it could get awkward.

“So how do you know Shiro?”

“Oh he’s my cousin, and I’ve lived with him since I was 13.”

“He’s your cousin?” Then Lance leaned in and looked Keith up and down, “Guess his side of the family got the good genes.”

Keith rolled his eyes, “You really dragged me out on my birthday just to insult me?” but he couldn’t hide his smile at the playful banter.

“GARLIC KNOT DELIVERY!” yelled Pidge, seemingly out of nowhere, as they plopped the two orders onto the table, making Keith and Lance jump.

“And I’ve got drinks!” Hunk added as he struggled to hold onto the four glasses of coke without spilling them. “Little help please.”

Once everything was situated, they all turned to look at Keith. He looked around at their expectant eyes. “What?”

“Oh we just want to see your face the first time you eat Coran’s garlic knots.” Lance looked over to Pidge, “You recording Pidgeon?”

“Yep. Alright, dig in Keith.”

“You guys are ridiculous.” Keith picked up a garlic knot. It was golden brown and covered in a shiny layer of butter. He looked around at everyone expectantly watching him. He rolled his eyes as he bit into it. “Oh my god. This is amazing.”

Lance gave him a smile. “See, what did we tell you?”

“I don’t know who this Coran guy is, but I think I love him.”

-

Four baskets of garlic knots and few cokes later, they managed to drag Keith onto the dance floor despite his protests.

“Come on Keith it’ll be fun,” Lance sing-songed.

“I don’t dance.”

“Stop referencing High School Musical and just come on,” Lance said as he dragged Keith by the wrist.

The DJ was pretty good, and he played some songs that even Keith recognized. Pidge and Hunk were already on the floor dancing when Lance managed to find them through the crowd of people.

“Hey guys!” Pidge shouted over the music. “We’re going to go make some song requests. You guys got any?”

“Oh I got one!” Lance leaned over and whisper shouted into Pidge’s ear so they could hear him.

“Alright, got it. We’ll be right back.”

Lance seemed to naturally fall into the rhythm of the music. Swaying his body to beat of current song blasting through the speakers.

“Come on dude, we’re on the dance floor. You gotta daaance,” he said as he grabbed Keith’s hands and shimmied him back and forth.

“I don’t really know how to dance,” Keith admitted as he stared down at his feet.

“It’s easy, let me show you.” Lance moved his hands to Keith’s shoulders. “But first, you have to relax. You’re way too tense,” he said as he pressed his thumb into Keith’s shoulder.

Keith took a deep breath in and out and looked back up at Lance. His eyes seemed to be glowing in the fluorescent light.

“Alright, now all you gotta do is move your feet and arms to the beat. You can just sway back and forth a little bit.”

Keith tried to copy what Lance doing with his feet, but every time he looked back up, he didn’t want to look away.

“Yeah, you’re getting it. Alright, now if you’re up to it, you can try to add your hips into it too. Like this.”

Lance began moving his hips effortlessly to the beat of the song, and Keith couldn’t look away. He realized he was probably staring like an idiot, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. Until the sound of Lance’s voice shook him out of his trance.

“Hey, my eyes are up here,” Lance smirked. “But I get it. I mean who wouldn’t want a piece of this?”

“I—uh,” Keith stuttered, probably looking as red as his shirt.

“Dude, I’m kidding,” Lance laughed.

“Ah Lance, Keith, there you guys are!” Pidge yelled from behind Lance and they jumped onto him from Hunk’s shoulders like a clingy sloth.

“AaaH, Pidgeon you’ve gotta stop sneaking up on us like that!” Lance yelled back, swatting them away.

“Why? We’re you guys having a moment?” they teased innocently.

“I was just showing Keithy boy here how to dance.”

“Then let’s dance! The DJ should be playing our requests soon too!”

They spend the rest of the night dancing together in a small circle going around to show off their moves. Keith learned that Pidge can do a killer robot, Hunk’s signature move is the sprinkler, and Lance can dance effortlessly to any song. When the macarena came on, apparently per Lance’s request, he forced Keith to join him. Lance marcarena-ed with all the enthusiasm and confidence in the world, and Keith couldn’t help but find it endearing. Around midnight, they decide to call it a night.

-

Pidge still managed to snatch shotgun on the ride back, but Keith didn’t really mind. Some quiet music hummed throughout the car, and everyone was half asleep. Keith’s apartment was the closest to Castle Altea, so he was the first to go.

As Hunk pulled up to the curb, Pidge and Lance stirred from their sleepy haze and looked over at Keith.

“Well, did you have a good birthday Keith?” Pidge asked, barely awake.

“Yeah, I did. This was a lot of fun. I should get going though, it’s pretty late. It’s was nice to meet you Hunk and Lance.”

“Wait,” Lance said a little louder than necessary, making Pidge grumble. “Can I get a hug? I always hug my friends when we say goodbye.”

“Uh sure,” Keith began to lean over, but Lance practically jumped on top of Keith and pulled him into his arms.

“We should all hang out again soon,” Lance smiled as he pulled away from Keith.

“Yeah, definitely. Well goodnight everyone.” Keith was met with a mumbled chorus of goodnights as he left the car and walked up to his apartment.

-

Keith couldn’t believe it. He really did have a good time. Maybe Pidge was right, this whole having friends was actually…nice.

Hunk was so friendly and welcoming and his whole personality just screamed lovable. And yeah, Lance could be loud and maybe a little over the top, but when it came down to it, Keith liked Lance. He was a good guy. _And he’s kind of cute too_. Wait. Nope, no, no, no. Bad thought. Nope. Lance is definitely _not_ cute. He’s just a really nice friend. _Or boyfriend_ his mind suggested. Ugh. This—might be a problem. He felt his phone buzz in his pocket and pulled it out to see a text from an unknown number.

**????** : _Hey, hope you had fun tonight, and HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!_

  
**????** : _Oh btw this is Lance, pidgeon gave me your number_

  
**Keith** : _Yeah I did, you’re a lot of fun :)_

He saved Lance to his contacts. _He got his number._ He smiled at his phone like a lovesick fool at that thought. As he pulled off his jacket, he remembered the card from Lance in his pocket. He opened the envelope and looked over the card. On the front, there was an otter in a birthday hat. A Starbucks gift card fell out as he opened it. In Lance’s loopy handwriting it read:

  
_Any friend of Pidge is a friend of mine. HAPPY BIRTHDAY KEITH!_

  
_p.s. I figured any college student could use some free coffee, so enjoy ;)_

He caught himself grinning again.

Yeah—this might be a problem.

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading!!


End file.
